Ladle car



W. DE FRIES Sept. 25, 1934.

LADLE CAR Filed Aug. 30, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l @MMWW aw w. .5: x

w. DE FRIES Sept. 25, 1934.

LADLE CAR 7 a my AM. In.-. lll/IIIA V /1 .i.. A J M r l 7/ 0 9 9 1 (a I 9 5 0 d 7/471!!! WITNESS Patented Sept. 25, 1934 PATENT OFFICE LADLE CAR Walter de Fries, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to Pittsburgh Steel Foundry Corporation, Glassport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 30, 1932, Serial No. 631,003

Claims.

My invention pertains to containers for fluids, particularly in the transportation thereof, and relates, more specifically, to what are known as ladle-cars for molten metal,--i. e., cars embody- 5 ing heat-retaining ladles used not only for the transportation of the metal but also for the storage of the metal for extended periods between transportation.

To serve their double purpose the ladles of such cars must be constructed so as to have a large metal holding capacity (often eighty tons or more) in order that the ratio of the surface of the ladle to its cubical contents be kept as low as is practicable, so that the heat radiation from the shell of the ladle be minimized, thereby extending the period for which the filled ladle can be stored without danger of its load freezing or solidifying.

Although, for the foregoing and other reasons, the ladle of the car should be of large capacity, there exist limitations upon the maximum width, height and length of the car. These limitations originate from existing plant and track conditions. The width of the car is, of course, limited by the gauge of the track upon which it is used,

and by the clearance-between such tracks, also by the width of the doorways of buildings which the car is required to enter. The height of the car is limited by the distance, above track level, of the runners of the blast furnaces from which the ladle car is required to receive its load of metal, under which runners the car must be placed. Height is also limited by the doorways, bridges, etc., under which the car is required to pass. The length of the car is necessarily limited, since otherwise its center portion would pass beyond the available track clearance in the passing of the car around curves. Undue length of the car, moreover, would involve a correspondingly increased length of the blast furnace runners, which, because of the downward slope necessary to such runners, would place the outer parts of the runners unduly low, and would consequently unduly limit the height of cars required to pass beneath such outer parts. Again, where ladles are demountably supported on their cars and equipped with lifting trunnions for their removal from the car body in loaded or unloaded condition, the trunnion center distance, which is dependent on the ladle length, cannot be too great if the cost of overhead handling facilities is not to exceed economic limitations. Still again, the heavy loads to be carried by such ladles forbid that the length of the ladle be too great because the load would 55 dictate a shell construction so heavy that the total weight of the car would adversely affect the net loading capacity of the car as a unit.

Ladle cars as-now constructed usually follow one of two designs, distinguished by the employment or non-employment of car sills for connecting the end frames of the car proper. Where the periodical removal of the ladle from the car is not required, asin the case of ladle cars with their own integral discharge or dumping mechanism, the ladle is frequently developed in sufllcient strength to act not only as the load carrier, but also to withstand stresses incidental to train operation, such as coupler thrusts, etc. Car sills are omitted with this design, which favors a Zeppelin or cigar-shaped container for carrying the hot metal, as best suited for the combined function above outlined. With cars of this character, repouring of the metal through transfer ladles is usually resorted to for delivery of -the hot metal to open hearth furnaces and converters for further processing, or to mixers for storage.

It is preferable, however, to avoid such repouring operations, with their resultant losses of metal from spilling or skulling. Recent ladle car designs, therefore, feature demountable hot-metal 0 containers of large capacity which are supported on cars built with sills connecting the end frames,

to make the cars self-containedfor resisting all stresses incidental to load-carrying or'train operation. With this type of ladle car the ladle'may 8 be filled at the metal producing point and transported to any metal consuming station, there to be lifted'from the car and held on stationary supports for future disposition. Another empty container may then be placed on the car, thus releas- 9o ing the latter immediately for further service.

Safety of operation of such cars and ladies demands, of course, that any possibility'of accidental spilling of molten metal be guarded against under all operating conditions. This requirement dictates location of all supports or trunnions of the ladle, whether for car mounting or crane lifting, at an elevation substantially above the center of gravity of the ladle proper when the latter is in normal position. For crane lifting usually two main-trunnions are attached to the ladle at its opposite ends in a plane passing vertically through the longitudinal axis of the ladle. For resting on the car usually two additional trunnions are provided at each end of the ladle, all located in the same horizontal plane, but at equal distances from the center axis, in such .a way that any two opposite trunnions may act as turning points for tipping the ladle on the car to permit discharge of its contents to no eitherside of the track. The sidewise dispositlon of these four trunnions from the center axis is governed by several requirements. One of these requirements is that the trunnions be located outwardly beyond the position of the center of gravity of the empty ladle in its extreme tipped position, so as to avoid any over-turning tendency. Another requirement is that the trunnions beldisposed in jsuc h a way that the path of travel of the ladle spout during: the tipping pperaition forms as'flat an are as possible with relation to the vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the ladle. In addition, it is desirable to keep the center of gravity of the ladle,

whatever its position or the amount of-its'con-' tents may be, within thelimitations of the gauge of the track on whichlthe car travels, t'o'avoid the creation of an over-turning' morne'r 't for'jthe entire unit of ladle and car combined, particu-' larly on banked curves or other deviations of the?- track from a truly level condition.,,.The se considerations impose limitations, not "only on'the position; oithe four-tipping, trunnions, but on,

the location oi the centerof gravity of :the ladlel aswell as ofi that of the combined vuniticar and.

' ladle); Si-nce'the location of,v the center'of grav fity of the-'ladleis largely governed by its. shape,,' and the disposition of its contents therein, the

" successful design oi. the entire unit depends to a considerablev extent on the: proper. shaping of -the character disclosed by Patent No. 1,535,482 to .sary to provide special tilting: means ontliei carf which intturn. prevents the convenient. lifting of the ladle oflthe car. ,Onthe, other, hand, if cranelugs (such as ,the lugs 21: or theKling patent) are --in connection with tilting. Echexamrilflii t bottom section" of the-ladle, extendsdownwa I -..."'betwee'n the side sills;,-,ofi'the;.ca r ,i I

utilize fully available-spacein.thatregion, elea r ance doesnot existthatwouldpermit.thepassage Fred E.,Klirig, having vertical walls which per- "mit easyvariation of capacity by changing the. =l'1eightof such walls. According to my said "prior "invention, however,,. the shape otthe -ladle in horizontal cross-section is,- as it were, flattened.

from the true circle of the prior Kling ladlatinto an oval, whereby the'interior capacity of the ladleisconsiderably increasedjwhil e retaining, ati'the vsameitime the advantages of theQKlingJ ladle, as to: ready availability fqreclifieren h i ht etc;

Howeverthe curved, vertical -sided con rue tion chaiacteristic of theladle of; rays invention", :and of ,the. said -Klingladle, imposes certain-rlimitations I 011-; its; operation, particularly past suchsidesills .of lifting lugsor thelike adapt;-

ed to receivethe hooks of a-crane=tolbe ernplbyed.

forltiltingthe, ladle and ,it then becomes necesf provided, and given the clearance from the side,

i viewpoint.

sills required to permit tilting oi theladle, the ladle must be carried higher onthefcar than will permit full utilization of the space between the side sills of the latter. This results in ahigher center of gravity for the entire unit, which, as previously stated, is objectionable from a safety Moreover, the. carrying of the ladle higher on the car may not be possible within the ,axle capacity or tations above referred to} Furthermore, it is essential that, in pouring, the pouring lip of the spout be inclined at an angle of 12 or more with respect to a horizontal plane in order to effect proper discharge of the contents of the ladle. This requires a tilting of a ladle with vertical-sided walls through a minimum arcpf, 90 plus lzf, or 102. Such tip- 'ping range dictates inf either "the- 'lc'ication of the four supporting trunnions nfith'e top of the straight-sided ladle portion, resulting in high pouring with objectionable splashing of metal, or else the introduction of four additional auxiliary same ladle capacity, because of the height limi trunnions, at quite some distance from the longit,udinalcenter axis of the ladle, in such manner .thatthe weightof'the ladle shifts, in tilting, from o'ne'pairlof trunnions to the other and the center of gravity of the ladle and its contents is alwayszk'eptinwardof the trunnions which, at the moment, carry the weight of the ladle. The attachin'ent of such auxiliary, or outside, trunnions to straight ended ladles of circular or oval shape in he ntal -secti eduires that th trunnions .beYof considerable length. They are concapacity of any car which is limited to a'fixed wheel load on account of" track conditons'." .An important object of my pr'eise'nt invention is to provide a carfor' the transportation of liqiiids,

such asa ladle' car, the container, or ladle, of 11.;

which has a holding capacity in excess of-that obtainable, with prior 'constru'ction's within corresponding, dimensions oi height, width and depth. I 'Anothriobject is the reduction or the are through which the'la dle" has to betipped for discharge of its contents, irrespective-of whether such tipping is done on the car 'by means of an overhead crane or by other devices *provided therefor perhaps on'th'e car itself or on theg'ro'und adjacent, to the pouring station," or while the ladle i s'susp'eiided from an overheadcrane. "Such re- "duction ,in the tipping range increases the safety ,off loper'a'tionoff the entire by guarding asZdistinguis'he'd from 'a shape of the cylinder or sphere typegwhichdsdefined by but asingleaxis.

The lower II Ift iOh of my ladle sh'ell is 'of "almost 'pyramid'w ith a substantially'rectangular base. The "longitudinal sides of such middle portion are slightly bowed, to coincide with the'barrelsha pe d bottom at their lines of junctiomand with the curve of'another barrel segment, which forms the top enclosure of my container. The joint between the bottom and the middle portion is made on straight tangential lines to provide smooth flow-lines for the contents, while that between the middle and upper or roof portion is made in angular fashion, similar to the joint between the barrel body and barrel heads, which latter form the end closures for my container. Thus the container, from the bottom up to the intersection of the middle portion and roof portion, is of substantially parabolic shape in vertical cross-section. This type of container is characterized by an interior space of constant ly increasing cross-sectional area in any horizontal plane above its bottom and up to the roof joint, as distinguished from the uniform crosssectional area in successive longitudinal planes above or below the supporting axis typical of such ladles as that of the before-mentioned Kling patent and my said copending application, and, further, as distinguished from a cross-section of decreasing area above the horizontal axial plane typical of any container represented by a figure of revolution about a horizontal axis, such as that disclosed by Patent No. 1,251,282 granted to J. D. Pugh.

In place ofcharging hoppers and nose type spouts however, which feature stationary mixer installations, I provide openings in the roof adjacent to the side walls, flaring outwardly as they rise, and forming with their built up lips substantially extensions of the side walls above the intersecting roof-line. Such inclination of both side-walls and the extensions thereof constituted by the spout-lips reduces the tilting movement necessary to empty the ladle and provides such clearance between the bottom portion of the metal ladle and the side-sills of the car proper as permits the installation of lifting lugs properly located for convenient engagement and disengagement by crane hooks, while still usefully employing the space available between the cal? side sills.

I have described, by way of example, in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, one form of ladle car embodying my invention, but I wish it to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms, and that changes may be made in the form described and shown, without exceeding the scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the ladle car; Fig. 2 is a side elevation as viewed from the lower side, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged end.

appliances required for safe train-operation.-

The car end-frames 12 support a cradle 10 pivoted, at 11, centrally of the endframes and having two or more side bearings at each end, through which the entire weight of the car and load is transmitted to the trucks 13 operating on tracks 13a. The cradle 10 comprises a pair of side sills M with depressed center sections,- between which the bottom of the ladle is slung,

and is provided with cross-connecting members 15 and 15a between the two side sills 14, each having two suitable bearings 16 for receiving the four supporting trunnions carried by the ladle. The foregoing construction permits of the entire cradle being constituted by a single casting, which, in turn, permits the metal used for such casting to be an alloy steel having high strength characteristics. Thus, for the required strength, the cradle may be lighter than would be possible with the grade of steelavailable for producing a welded or otherwise built-up cradle.

The ladle is of suitably reinforced cast steel and plate construction, providedwith an interior lining of refractory material. It'lconsists of a pair of vertically inclined side walls 17, with the centers of their upper ends, spacedapart: by a distance equal to that between the oiitsideifaces of side sills 14, so as to take advantage at this point of the full width, governed by sideyclearance limitations for the car. Thesesidewallsgare bowed, as shown in Fig. 1, to suit thepurvature of the barrel sections 18 and 22 forming- 120p and bottom of the container, the degree of curvature being just sufficient to permit effective keying of the brick shapes between the supporting end walls. When the ladle 'is tilted by or more for discharge of its contents, one side wall or the other replaces the roof as the top-most portion of the container and its refractory lining, weakened perhaps by erosion, would tend to fall into the metal, were it not properly keyed as required for regular arch construction. Hence, the vertically inclined side walls are curved to a degree sufflcient. to permit keying of a brick-lining applied to their inside in self-supporting archconstruction supported by the lining of the ends.

The inclination of the side walls 17 is such that they approach each other in a downward direction, as is easily seen by comparison with the strictly vertical chain lines a. shown for the purpose on Fig. 4 of the drawings. The lower edges of the side walls join the barrel-shaped bottom section 18 tangentially, so as to avoid lateral stresses and to secure a continuity of inside surface which is conductive to an easy and convenient flow of the contents from the ladle. The barrel-type construction of the bottom section, 18, is resorted to as a shape which is selfsustaining underthe load it has to carry, when the ladle is in its normal position. It eliminates the requirement for stiffening ribs or beams, which would have to be added to a straight cylindrical bottom, for instance, to give it adequate strength. Such additional stiffening members would occupy space which, with the barrel-shaped construction of bottom section, is utilized for increasing the cubical capacity of the container. Moreover, the barrel-shaped construction of bottom section lends itself particularly well to the mounting of the ladle on the car in such a wayv that its lowest point is substantially level with the undersides of the side sills 14 of the cradle, or inother words, is as low as is consistent with the minimum required vertical track clearance. The result of such mountingof the ladle with its bottom dropping in between the side sills to a maximum extent is a 'minimum over-all height of the entire unit (car and ladle) for any given capacity, or, if the height chosen is the greatest allowable, a maximum cubical capacity of the ladle for that height. Another advantage of the barrel-shaped bottom originates from the fact that the decrease in transverse bottom radius, starting from the middle of the ladle and continuing towards either end, provides, in conjunction with the sloping side walls, space between the outside of the bottom and the insides of the side sills which gives clearance for the movement of lifting lugs past the side sills of the car when the ladle is tilted, and thus permits such lifting lugs to be employed.

A pair of such lifting lugs, designated 19 and carrying pins 20 for engagement by crane-hooks or the like, are mounted on each side of the bottom section 18 in such a manner that they do not extend past the outside surface of the side sills, or, in other words, that they stay within the side clearance limitation for the car. The lugs are placed relatively low,--so that the lifting effort, for tilting the ladle, may be in an approximately vertical direction, but high enough to provide sufiicient clearance between the top plate of the side sill and the under side of the lug or pin for the easy entry or disengagement of the crane hook or the like. It will be seen from the chain lines 12" which have been placed on Fig. 4 to show the path taken by the outside edges of the lugs during the tilting operation that when the ladle is tilted by crane-hooks or the like attached to one pair of lugs, the other pair of lugs will clear the car sill past which they must move during such tilting operation. The provision of a pair of lifting lugs on each side of the ladle, instead of the single lug which is usually mounted in the middle between the trunnions, not only avoids concentration of stresses, originating from the tipping operation, on the middle portion of the ladle, already burdened by a maximum of load stresses due to its beam action, but also halves the load each crane-hook or the like has to carry, so that their dimensions may be smaller, with correspondingly less clearance requirements.

The employment of two lifting lugs on each side of the car, and the construction of ladle which permits such employment, with the requisite clearances, is of material importance. Where sngle lugs are employed for ladles of large capacity, their size, and that of the hooks engaging them, becomes such that the lugs must extend a considerable distance outwardly from the ladle proper. Since their outermost parts must be within the permissible transverse track clearance, this correspondingly reduces the width of the ladle and therefore its capacity. My construction of ladle, permitting the employment of two pairs of lugs in the manner just explained, avoids this.

The upper edges of the inclined side walls 17 are held in spaced relationship by the roof secton 22 of the ladle. In contrast with the almost semi-barrel shape in which the bottom section 18 is constructed, the roof section 22 is construced in the shape of a comparatively shallow segment of a barrel, with its axis again following the track center line. This gives substantially straight horizontal joint lines between the side walls and the roof section which are highly convenient from a construction standpoint. Since the roof, like all other portions of the ladle, has to be lined with refractory material it follows that it is highly desirable that the lining be arched in order to be self-supporting under all operating conditions. The depth of such arching is governed by the span between supports, with short spans requiring the least depth. It follows, therefore, that if roof arches are thrown across the longitudinal axis of the ladle less curvature will be required than if the arches are thrown in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the container, and I construct the roof section 22 of my ladle in the former manner.

Every inch of decrease in roof curvature permits corresponding increase in side wall height, with resulting increased ladle capacity for a fixed overall height of the container. Therefore the arching of the roof section across the shorter distance between ladle walls permits full utilization of available space for loading purposes. The use of comparatively large radii for the shallow arches of the roof-section results in an almost rectangular intersection between roof section and side walls, as distinguished from the tangential junction of the side walls with the bottom section, 18.

For filling or emptying the ladle I provide two openings 23 and 23a, in the roof adjacent to the side walls and midway between the trunnion-supporting ends of the ladle. These openings are adapted to be closed by covers 27 disposed so as to meet in edge-to-edge relation when closed. Each cover is mounted on an arm 28 pivoted to the roof so that the cover occupies a horizontal plane, the arms being provided with wheels 29 adapted to travel on arcuate tracks 30 carried by the roof. The arms are geared together as indicated at 31, so that movement of one cover, either by hand or by an appropriate moving device, will eifect a corresponding movement of the other. It will be observed that the covers, as thus constructed do not, whether open or closed, occupy space above the center of the roof of the ladle.

The openings are developed into spouts in the manner indicated on the drawings, with the pouring lips of such spouts forming continuations of the side walls to insure a straight flow line, free from pockets. Disposition of the spouts in this manner insures free flow of the contents of the ladle from every direction, so that a ladle of this type may properly be termed self draining," with the least angularity of revolution around its turning axis.

The construction of the end walls of the ladle departs entirely from past practice in the construction of ladle cars. In place of cylindrical end portions forming a continuation of the side' walls, I provide substantially fiat end walls 21 disposed at right angles with the longitudinal axis of the ladle, thus closing the hollow structure formed by the other members of the ladle, here tofore described. These end walls 21 form the heads for the barrel-shaped bottom and roof sections and extend between them in a straightline connection to the side-walls. For lining purpose, I again prefer to dish such heads just sufliciently to permit keying of their brick lining, so as to better secure the lining against shocks and thrust impacts resulting from the car move- 1 ment and switching. While these walls, in normal operation of the ladle, do not assume a position in which the bricks would naturally tend to drop therefrom, a slight outward bowing in dome fashion to a high point will readily provide for the lining being locked in position, without calling for that degree of curvature, which would make it self-supporting under suspended condi tions.

The end walls 21 of my ladle carry trunnions, designated 25 and 25a on the drawings. and adapted to rest in the trunnion bearings 16 of the transverse members 15 and 15a of the cradle. Forward of these trunnions, and with shoulders disposed outwardly beyond their ends, are provided cranelifting trunnions 26, one at each end of the ladle, said trunnions being attached in the vertical center of the ladle-ends in a plane usually above that of the location for the other trunnions, so as to provide adequate clearance between their undersides and thetop surface of the cradle 10 for entry or exit of crane-hooks or other lifting devices. By these means the ladle may be handled from and to the car either empty or filled with metal, and can be made to discharge its contents by turning around the common axis of the trunnions 26. For pouring of metal from the car, the ladle rotates about the common axis of trunnions 25 or 25a, depending upon which side of the track the discharge is to take place, the metal flowing through the spout, 23 or 23a, nearest to the turning axis. For turning the ladle. crane-hooks or other lifting devices are connected with the pins 20 of that pair of lifting lugsy19 which are on the, side of the ladle opposite to that at which the pouring is to occur, and are thenv gradually raised to eliect the pouring operation. The chain line C placed on Fig. 4 shows, the path of the lip of the spout 23 as the ladle is turned around the common axis of trunnions 25., beginning with the full line position and terminating in the dotted line position where the spout lip has the required minimum inclination of 12 with any horizontal plane to secure full drainage of the metal from the ladle, although the latter has turned through an arc of only about plus 6, the increased bevel having been obtained by corresponding inclination of the side walls of the ladle. The algebraic expression for this postulate is, that the angle :1: equals the sum of the angles y and .2 (Fig. 4).

It is evident that the center of gravity of the ladle, normally situated in the common vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the container and the track center line, does not move as far towards the side of the car with this restricted tipping motion as would be required with a ladle having vertical side walls. Consequently I can situate each pair of supporting trunnions in a position at once favorable from the two standpoints of lifting efiiciency and pouring characteristics, and can obtain safety of operation without having to resort to auxiliary pairs of trunnions, usually employed in succession.

The path followed by the center of gravity of the ladle during the tilting of the latter in the empty state is shown by the chain line e upon Figure 4 of the drawings, G designating the position of the center of gravity of the empty. ladle when in upright position, and G designating the position of the same gravity-center when the ladle is in its dotted line position. When the full ladle is tilted for pouring, it will be substantially empty by the time it reaches the dotted line position of Fig. 4, and its center of gravity will therefore be at G. It will be noted that with the ladle in the final discharge position its center of gravity, G, is well back or the vertical plane extending through the axis of the trunnion 25, so that there is no tendency towards overturning of the ladle, and ample moment is available to secure the au tomatic return of the ladle into normal position on the car when the lifting lugs are lowered again. As chain line d in Fig. 4 further indicates, the center of gravity of the tilted container has not passed beyond the nearest rail of track 13a, so that, even should there be a connection between the ladle and the car, such as might cause them to swing or rock in unison upon sufiicient transverse force being applied, there is no tendency towards upsetting of the entire unit from the track. This is due to the entire absence of any overturning moment originating from any position which may be assumed by the ladle on the car.

Summarizing the various construction characteristics heretofore outlined, it may be stated that my ladle car has a considerably greater capacity with less dead weight, for a given length, height and width, than has heretofore been obtainable. This is largely due. to my application to ladlecars of a number ofthe features which characterize stationary mixers,--such as, for instance, the substantially flat end walls, producing a boxshaped middle section of the ladle, and the employment of a barrel-shaped bottom. The embodiment of these features in the ladle of a ladlecar. not only simplifies the design, but makes the pouring operation easier and safer and avoids the necessity of resorting to more than a single pair of'trunnions on each end of the ladle. An additional advantage of my ladle, resulting from the construction employing inclined side-walls in combination with a barrel-shaped bottom, is the opportunity for mounting lifting lugs in pairs on each side of the ladle without sacrifice of space for loading purposes yet conveniently accessible for engagement with tipping devices not mounted on the car. The absence of a special mechanism for tilting the ladle when on the car eliminates any necessity for more or less fixed connections between car and ladle, so that the latter may freely be removed, giving greater flexibility in metal handling without repouring and permitting more frequent use of the car proper for transportation purposes.

I claim:

1. A. container for fluids, comprising a bottom portion and a roof portion each shaped in the form of a barrel section, side portions connecting said bottom and roof portions and inclined away from each other from said bottom portion'to said roof portion, substantially flat end portions disposed at right angles with the longitudinal axis of the container and connecting the ends of said side portions and closing the ends of said bottom portion and roof portion, and a trunnion mounted on each of said end portions above the center of gravity of the filledcontainer.

2. A container for fluids, comprising a bottom portion and a roof portion each shaped in the form of a barrel section, side portions connecting said bottom and roof portions and inclined away from each other from said bottom portion to said roof portion, substantially flat end portions disposed at right angles with the longitudinal axis of the container and connecting the ends of said side portions and closing the ends of said bottom portion and roof portion, and a pair of trunnions mounted on each end portion, one on each side of the longitudinal center line of the container, said trunnions being disposed above the centenof gravity of the filled container.

3. A container for fluids, comprising a bottom portion shaped in the form of a barrel section, side portions connected with said bottom portion and extending upward therefrom in an outwardly inclined direction, substantially fiat end portions connecting the ends of said side portions and closing the end of said bottom portion, a roof portion shaped in the form of a barrel section and connecting with said side portions, said roof portion being formed with an opening adjacent one of said side portions, and said side portion extending past its intersection with said roof portion Hill and connecting with said side portions, said roof portion being formed with an opening adjacent one of said side portions", 'and said side portion extending past its intersection with said roof portion at said opening to form a spout lip, and a pair of trunnions mounted on each of said end portions at a level above that 01 the center of gravity of the filled container, the trunnions of each pair being disposed on each side oi the Iongitudinal axis of the container.

5. A ladle can comprising in combination a pair of car trucks, a truck frame provided with side sills mounted on said trucks and curved downwardly therebetween, a closed ladle provided with a bottom having the shape of a barrel section and a width adapted to fit between and rest below said side sills, a top of the same general shape as said bottom but 015 lesser curvature and a width substantially equal to the outside width of said car frame,side sections joining said bottom and top together and end walls therefor disposed substantially at right angles to the axes of the la'dle, trunnions on said end walls for rotating the ladle to discharge its contents from' openings located in said top adjacent the edge of said top and bottom joining sections, said trunnions being disposed above the center of gravity of said ladle and supports mounted on said frame iss 

